Prof. Mark Grimsley
363 Dulles Hall
Tel. 292-1855
E-mail: grimsley.1@osu.edu
This is a graduate readings course focusing on "new frontiers" in military history; that is to say, fresh explorations into the military dimension of human affairs being carried out by both military and non-military historians (and, in some cases, by scholars working in other disciplines). The emphasis is on the intersection of war, ethnicity, and gender, but we will also examine works that address the role of war in the expansion of the state and the problem of war and moral judgment.
Office Hours
Mondays, 12:30-1:30 p.m.; Thursdays, 9:30-10:30 a.m.; and by appointment.
All students must be officially enrolled in the course by the end of the second full week of the quarter. No requests to add the course will be approved by the department chair after that time. Enrolling officially and on time is solely the responsibility of each student.
Requirements
One six-page book review; two 10-to-12 page essays based on the required and supplementary readings (as well as readings you may discover on your own).
Book Review (20% of course grade) is due April 11.
Essay 1 (30% of course grade) is due May 10.
Essay 2 (30% of course grade) is due June 6.
Class Participation counts for 20% of the course grade.
Week 1. INTRODUCTION
No class meeting, but please read the following:
John A. Lynn, "Clio in Arms: The Role of the Military Variable in Shaping History," Journal of Military History, vol. 55, no. 1 (January 1991): 83-95.
John Shy, "The Cultural Approach to the History of War," Journal of Military History vol. 57, no. 5 (special issue; October 1995): 13-26.
Week 2. THE CULTURE OF COMBAT-I.
Required:
Craig M. Cameron, American Samurai
Supplemental:
Omer Bartov, The Eastern Front, 1941-45 (or Hitler's Army)
John Dower, War Without Mercy
J. Glenn Gray, The Warriors
Week 3. THE CULTURE OF COMBAT-II.
Required:
Dave Grossman, On Killing
Supplemental:
Richard Holmes, Acts of War
John Keegan, The Face of Battle
Jonathan Shay, Achilles in Vietnam
Week 4. WAR AND GENDER-I.
Required:
Cynthia Enloe, Bananas, Beaches, and Bases
Supplemental:
Cynthia Enloe, Does Khaki Become You?
Jean Bethke Elshtain, Women and War
Leila J. Rupp, Mobilizing Women for War
Week 5. WAR AND GENDER-II.
Required:
Reid Mitchell, The Vacant Chair
Supplemental:
Michael C.C. Adams, The Great Adventure
Catherine Clinton and Nina J. Silber, Divided Houses
Drew Gilpin Faust, Mothers of Invention
Week 6. WAR AS AN ENGINE OF SOCIETAL CHANGE-I.
Required:
Theda Scocpol, Protecting Soldiers and Mothers
Supplemental:
Richard Bensel, Yankee Leviathan
Joh U. Nef, War and Human Progress
Bruce Porter, War and the Rise of the State
Week 7. WAR AS AN ENGINE OF SOCIETAL CHANGE-II.
Required:
Sylvia R. Frey, Water From the Rock
Supplemental:
Ira Berlin et al., Slaves No More
Merton Dilllon, Slavery Attacked
Louis Gerteis, From Contraband to Freedman
Week 8. THE EXTREMES OF WAR-I.
Required:
Michael S. Sherry, The Rise of American Air Power
Supplemental:
Conrad C. Crane, Bombs, Cities, and Civilians
Ronald Schaffer, Wings of Judgment
Ronald T. Takaki, Hiroshima: Why America Dropped the Atomic Bomb
Week 9. THE EXTREMES OF WAR-II.
Required:
Ervin Staub, The Roots of Evil
Supplemental:
Michael Bilton and Kevin Sim, Four Hours in My Lai
Christopher Browning, Ordinary Men
Herbert C. Kelman and V. Lee Hamilton, Crimes of Obedience
Week 10. WAR AND MORAL JUDGMENT.
Required:
Michael Walzer, Just and Unjust Wars
Supplemental:
George Andreopoulos et al., The Laws of War
Geoffrey Best, Humanity in Warfare
Michael Howard, War and the Liberal Conscience
Week 11. WAR AND MEMORY.
Required:
J. M. Winter, Sites of Memory, Sites of Mourning
Supplemental:
Paul Fussell, The Great War and Modern Memory
George L. Mosse, Fallen Soldiers
Philip Nobile (ed.), Judgment at the Smithsonian
Return to Mark Grimsley Home Page